Farage, the low-rent British Trump and real-life Alan Partridge, spent his post-Brexit victory lap cozying up to Donald Trump and other faux American populists. Farage is a remarkably transparent opportunist, and he saw a branding opportunity to go from “smarmy guy drinking alone in a pub” to “figurehead of a worldwide populist movement.” He attended the RNC in July and appeared to be in regular contact with the Trump campaign. And shortly after his victory, Trump called for Prime Minister Theresa May to appoint Farage ambassador to the U.S.
In other words, he’s been an active social networker over the past year. Unsurprisingly, that seems to have ensnared him in the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
Farage is now a “person of interest” in the FBI’s probe, which has seemed inevitable ever since he was caught leaving the Ecuadorian embassay in London, where Julian Assange resides. Asked by BuzzFeed what he was doing there, Farage said he couldn’t remember.
According to the Guardian, “Sources with knowledge of the investigation said the former UKIP leader had raised the interest of FBI investigators because of his relationships with individuals connected to both the Trump campaign and Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder whom Farage visited in March.” Farage, for his part, has mimicked Trump’s own response to the FBI’s investigation, saying that his cameo is proof of the “hysterical” effort to avoid coming to terms with Brexit and Trump’s election victory.
Farage may be the Zelig of the Russia investigation—the rare individual who’s connected to nearly all of the parties involved. “If you triangulate Russia, WikiLeaks, Assange, and Trump associates, the person who comes up with the most hits is Nigel Farage,” one person told the Guardian.